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Much Ado About Nothing

by William Shakespeare, David Bevington (Editor), David Scott Kastan (Editor)

4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 · rating details · 100,592 ratings · 1,276 reviews

Set in a courtly world of masked revels and dances, this play turns on the archetypal story of a lady falsely accused of unfaithfulness, spurned by her bridegroom, and finally vindicated and reunited with him. Villainy, schemes, and deceits threaten to darken the brilliant humor and sparkling wordplay–but the hilarious counterplot of a warring couple, Beatrice and Benedick...more

Paperback, 120 pages

Published January 1st 1988 by Bantam Classics (first published 1598)

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May 23, 2009 Madeline rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: shakespeare, all-time-favorites

Much Ado About Nothing, abridged.

CLAUDIO: So, um, Hero, I sorta maybe like you a whole lot will you go to the prom with me?

HERO: We should get married! Squeeeeeee!

BEATRICE: Pfft. Love is for stupid losers who are stupid.

BENEDICK: You know, you might get laid more often if you weren’t such a cynical bitch all the time.

BEATRICE: Fuck you.

BENEDICK: Get in line, sugartits.

*audience is beaten over the head by sexual tension*

DON PEDRO: Hey everybody, I had a great idea! Let’s make Beatrice and Bene...more

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Aug 11, 2007 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: will-shakespeare, favorites, drama

Let's face it, there aren't too many of Shakespeare's females who kick ass. Yes, we all can name the four or five that don't quite suck (Kat, Portia, Viola, Emilia, etc) but good strong feminine characters were not, it seems, the bard's strong suit. So as you wade through the whiny, conniving, helpless throngs of man worshipping wenches that appear in nearly all Shakespeare plays, it can be tempting to just give up looking for redemption. But alas, it is this lack of strong feminine voice that m...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Erin by: fans of Beatrice/Benedick

Shelves: bragging-rights, plays, big-romance, brings-the-lolz, classics, fictionational-love

Edit 5/6/12 The perfect song to accompany a reading of this play would be Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons. There are several lyrics ripped straight from the text, not to mention similar themes. And it makes me oh so happy. :)

There are spoilers here, but this is Shakespeare. No way am I putting up spoiler tags.

According to the note in my copy, in Shakespeare's day the word "nothing" was pronounced "noting"-- so, "Much Ado About Noting", noting being synonymous with eavesdropping. That pretty m...more Edit 5/6/12 The perfect song to accompany a reading of this play would be Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons. There are several lyrics ripped straight from the text, not to mention similar themes. And it makes me oh so happy. :)

There are spoilers here, but this is Shakespeare. No way am I putting up spoiler tags.

According to the note in my copy, in Shakespeare's day the word "nothing" was pronounced "noting"-- so, "Much Ado About Noting", noting being synonymous with eavesdropping. That pretty much sums up this play... people putting way too much stock in second-hand information.

There are two (possibly three) main plots, including a messed up marriage between Hero and Claudio, which is nearly thwarted by Don John, the evilish villain who ruins other people's lives to distract himself from his own misery. Also featured are the comically inarticulate policemen-types, Dogberry and Verges.

The real center of the story, at least in the public's eye, was always the love-hate relationship between Beatrice and Benedick. Their journey is one that's seemingly copied in crappy books (adult or YA) even today! They begin by antagonizing each other, but by extremely contrived and insufficient means somehow end the play in each other's arms. The biggest difference is that Shakespeare is awesome and the present-day authors are just struggling. It helps that the silly game of eavesdropping isn't the true reason for Benedick and Beatrice to finally admit their feelings; it's hinted they had a romantic past and are probably still holding feelings for each other.

It's also still funny, despite being written hundreds of years ago. I find that so surprising-- although I'm not sure why, this isn't the first Shakespeare I've read. What especially tickled my funny bone was Dogberry's continual struggle with the English language. For example, mixing up "odorous" for "odious", "exclamation" for "acclamation", and "comprehended" for "apprehended".

My favorite part was the very end, when Beatrice and Benedick were in the process of admitting they loved each other. Beatrice is talking, insulting Benedick a little as per usual, and he just goes: "Peace, I will stop your mouth" and gives her a big ol' smooch. Absolutely awesome.

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Feb 17, 2010 Bram rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, the-bard

I’ve always found feistiness attractive. It’s probably the only consistent trait in the girls I’ve fallen for since high school. The clever retort, the unimpressed eye roll, the sarcastic aside: for better or worse, these are the things the pique my interest and prepare me for that unique form of suffering known as love. On my own, I’m hardly confident or witty enough to succeed in one-on-one situations with women who are shy or generally unforthcoming. I need someone to throw down the gauntlet...more I’ve always found feistiness attractive. It’s probably the only consistent trait in the girls I’ve fallen for since high school. The clever retort, the unimpressed eye roll, the sarcastic aside: for better or worse, these are the things the pique my interest and prepare me for that unique form of suffering known as love. On my own, I’m hardly confident or witty enough to succeed in one-on-one situations with women who are shy or generally unforthcoming. I need someone to throw down the gauntlet and challenge me to emerge from my self-absorbed, overly-staid default setting. I need a Beatrice.

Beatrice, Beatrice, Beatrice. She represents the most extreme range of feistiness that I’ve encountered in my romantic life; I’ve known two like her, and let’s just say that neither are my wife. I realize that, confined by the necessities of a comedic ending, Shakespeare ‘reforms’ both Beatrice and Benedick. In real life, however, there’s usually no such reformation, and while I shrink from suggesting that this type of extreme personality is antithetical to extended relationships, I have no doubt that it’s not for me in the long run. This isn’t to say that Beatrice’s personality no longer spins me around. It does and it has: I have a crush on Beatrice.

So it’s a small, playful crush, you’re thinking. Ah! but she’s more than just a well-timed bon mot. She has layers and a past deftly intimated. She’s been hurt, but she doesn’t let this trap her into the usual insecurities and vulnerabilities of a stock character. She rises above it and, if we disallow some mean-spirited trickery from her friends, I have no doubt that she’d forget Benedick as easily as I’ve forgotten loves long past*. Regardless, I’m sure she continues abusing Benedick verbally for years to come while, if his friends’ jests are to be seen as prophecy, she ends up giving him the horns (with me) after he returns to his flighty, bacheloresque ways. And anyway, I’ve a suspicion that some of Shakespeare’s comedies are more enjoyable if you simply disregard or adjust the ending when it doesn’t quite feel appropriate.

I’m not the only one in the room with a crush on Beatrice though. For starters, I need to compete with the Bard himself, who’s so enamored with his creation that he allows her to entirely overshadow (and occasionally speak for) the ironically named Hero. Plot-mover she may be; Hero is still a timid little thing who offers us very little personality or justification for compassion. In a way this is a smart move by Shakespeare, as it keeps the darker aspects of the play in check: without a large investment in either Hero or Claudio, we take their misfortunes in stride and are allowed the illusion of lightness in a play that’s brimming with calculated villainy.

While I’m temporarily distracted from thoughts of Bea, I’ll go ahead and discuss another character worthy of mention, Dogberry. He plays the hit-or-miss role of the clown, but he rises above the cringing due to a goofy habit that's been inspirational for modern writers. Both David Foster Wallace and Jonathan Safran Foer have made a practice of substituting incorrect but generally more difficult words in the dialogue of ill-spoken characters for comedic effect, which is exactly what Shakespeare does with Dogberry. So I must apologize to William for failing to give credit where it’s due in past reviews. But where was I? Oh! Beatrice. Beatrice, Beatrice, Beatrice.

*I’ve avoided the doghouse, right?
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Elizabeth Jesse wrote: "And for the record I really like Branagh's film, which manages to be quite good besides some abysmal casting decisions (Keanu Reeves?!?!...more
updated 19. Februar, 12:11 Uhr

Bram So I just watched the Branagh movie this weekend...and loved it. Yep. I thought Denzel, Branagh, and Emma Thompson were all fantastic and Keanu, as th...more
updated 22. Februar, 06:11 Uhr

Jan 21, 2011 Jeanette rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-fiction, classics, plays

This is an unfunny comedy. A notable exception is the misuse of words by Dogberry and Verges. I wouldn't even have caught that if not for the explanatory notes on the facing pages. I know I missed it when I saw the stage performance. There are a few humorous moments at the start between Beatrice and Benedick as they trade insults. Other than that, the play is more of a twisted romance. It has many of the same elements as other Shakespeare comedies, but it lacks the playfulness and absurdity of a...more This is an unfunny comedy. A notable exception is the misuse of words by Dogberry and Verges. I wouldn't even have caught that if not for the explanatory notes on the facing pages. I know I missed it when I saw the stage performance. There are a few humorous moments at the start between Beatrice and Benedick as they trade insults. Other than that, the play is more of a twisted romance. It has many of the same elements as other Shakespeare comedies, but it lacks the playfulness and absurdity of a real comedy like A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The introductory notes explain that the word "nothing" was at that time pronounced "noting," making the title a wordplay. "Noting" is eavesdropping, which is what the play is all about. It involves a lot of manipulative people devising elaborate set-ups whereby various other people will overhear information. Is this passive-aggressive behavior? I prefer direct communication.
Everyone is at fault here---the so-called friends for setting up the ruses, and the hearers for listening in on private conversations. But Claudio nails the truth in Act 2:

"Friendship is constant in all other things
Save in the office and affairs of love."

When it comes to wooing, it's every man for himself.

It's interesting how Don John the bastard brother is perceived as the evil one, but he only preys on the idiocy of the people he tricks. As I work my way through Shakespeare's plays, I'm beginning to think he saw the entire male sex as a bunch of dimwits. Else why would they fall for every lie and transparent disguise without questioning or seeking proof? (Think of Othello, completely undone by a stupid hanky.) It's always the women who see clearly and set everything to rights. Maybe Shakespeare simply saw that a man's duplicitous nature makes him automatically assume duplicity in everyone around him.

And what's up with Hero being willing to marry Claudio anyway, after he was so quick to believe lies about her? That's not love, that's brain damage! (less)

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Jul 11, 2012 Manny rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: why-not-call-it-poetry, life-is-shakespeare, too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts

I am probably the last person in the whole history of the world to get it, but, just in case there's someone else left, it occurred to me yesterday that the title of this play had to be a rude pun. Five minutes on Google was enough to confirm my suspicions. From this page:

In Shakespeare's time "nothing" was a euphemism for a woman's naughty bits. This gave the title three different yet equally appropriate meanings, as the main conflict over the play revolves around the false implication of Hero

...more

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Nov 16, 2012 Zarakoda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I've read this play several times, watched a movie of it, and analyzed every single page so thoroughly that every page of my book became a mass of scribbles... and still I haven't grown tired of it. This is probably my favorite of Shakespeare's plays I read, with others I have enjoyed being Richard III, Henry IV Part I, and Hamlet. And I've also picked up and studied Othello, The Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth, but those weren't exactly my favorites.

What makes Much Ado About Nothing so much fun...more

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Mar 16, 2013 midnightfaerie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, favorites

Click here for William Shakespeare Disclaimer

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare is absolutely fantastic. I've only read a few Shakespeare so far, but I have a feeling it will be my favorite. I love the characters, the plot, the dialogue and the interaction between the characters. Every other Shakespeare will have to surpass this. Like the typical Shakespeare, it's difficult to give highlights of the plot because there is so much going on, but basically it's one of his comedies about...more Click here for William Shakespeare Disclaimer

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare is absolutely fantastic. I've only read a few Shakespeare so far, but I have a feeling it will be my favorite. I love the characters, the plot, the dialogue and the interaction between the characters. Every other Shakespeare will have to surpass this. Like the typical Shakespeare, it's difficult to give highlights of the plot because there is so much going on, but basically it's one of his comedies about Leonato, a nobleman who lives in the idyllic Italian town of Messina. Leonato shares his house with his lovely young daughter, Hero, his playful, clever niece, Beatrice, and his elderly brother, Antonio (who is Beatrice's father). As the play begins, Leonato prepares to welcome some friends home from a war. The friends include Don Pedro, a prince who is a close friend of Leonato, and two fellow soldiers: Claudio, a well-respected young nobleman, and Benedick, a clever man who constantly makes witty jokes, often at the expense of his friends. Don John, Don Pedro’s illegitimate brother, is part of the crowd as well. Don John is sullen and bitter, and makes trouble for the others. When the soldiers arrive at Leonato’s home, Claudio quickly falls in love with Hero. Meanwhile, Benedick and Beatrice resume the war of witty insults that they have carried on with each other in the past. Claudio and Hero pledge their love to one another and decide to be married. To pass the time in the week before the wedding, the lovers and their friends decide to play a game. They want to get Beatrice and Benedick, who are clearly meant for each other, to stop arguing and fall in love. Their tricks prove successful, and Beatrice and Benedick soon fall secretly in love with each other. But Don John has decided to disrupt everyone’s happiness.

Once Don John starts to cause mischief, the group is torn apart and characters begin to choose which side they're on. At one point, Benedick even challenges Claudio to a duel on behalf of Beatrice. Much chaos ensues.

It's a delightfully entertaining story, with much wit between Beatrice and Benedick, my favorite characters. As they are being tricked into believing the other one is in love with them, they are still trying desperately to cling to dignity, and the wit and jibes at each other escalate. Their banter and play with words is one of the highlights of the play and only gets better and better as they each try and outdo each other.

When reading reviews and plot summaries of this play online, I've sadly come to notice that one of the absolute best characters often gets underplayed, or not even mentioned at all. Dogberry, our chief policeman, is the one who uncovers Don John's evil plot and brings it to Leonato. He is the only middle-class character and often tries desperately to use big words to impress the nobles, and often fails. This is cause for much of the humor of the play as we can't help but love him. He misuses words or uses the wrong word completely when trying to explain things. And then, when one of the plaintiff's (he means defendant's) calls him an ass, he wants to make sure it goes on record because he's so offended. So he goes around saying, "Let it be known, that I am an ass!" Too funny! He's a fantastic character and doesn't get enough recognition in my opinion. I absolutely loved this play.

The movie I chose to watch was one I watched years ago back in college and revisited again after reading the play. It has many stars in it and I think they all do an excellent job except for Robert Sean Leonard. You might remember him as the kid who killed himself in Dead Poet's society. My college professor went on and on about how terrible Keanu Reeves was as Don John, but I myself think he actually did him justice. Leonard, however, especially when realizing he has wronged Hero, does an abysmal job of carrying on about it. Emma Thompson as Beatrice and Kenneth Branagh as Benedict were a brilliant move, as they did an outstanding job. I can't say often enough just how much I love the dialogue between these two characters! And even more of a brilliant move, casting Michael Keaton as Dogberry! If you never see but one of Shakespeare's plays made into a movie, see this one if not for Keaton alone. He's fantastic and hilarious! He brings a new kind of comedy and abasement to Dogberry that no one else could do. Completely wonderful! I can't recommend this play or movie enough! Five stars to both!

ClassicsDefined.com
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Jun 11, 2010 C. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, drama

I found the Hero/Claudio plot really jarring and could barely see past it to get to the humour. The version I saw of it (before I read the play) cut out huge chunks of that particular subplot; Claudio was portrayed as an innocent, a young man who made a mistake. Which, I don't know, maybe the purists would get upset about, but it definitely made it a whole lot funnier.

In the actual play, though, my god he's a bastard. At the moment I'm in a place where I cannot stand that STUPID trope of the man...more

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Alan I'm thinking of going on (another) Shakespeare kick, having just read 1599 (brilliant btw) and going to see all the plays at Stratford (or as many as...more
03. Juni, 02:37 Uhr

C. I know, I know! Not to mention all that non-fiction and all of that stuff that claims to be neither, or both...
03. Juni, 14:27 Uhr

Natalie S. You should understand that the two plots reinforce each other. One of the main themes concerns loyalty - Claudio and Benedick are soldiers loyal to th...more
20. März, 09:19 Uhr

Jan 19, 2010 Joyzi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, reviewed, historical-fiction, historical-romance, own, fiction, humor, author-brit, poetry

Cute, sweet, witty, entertaining, funny, tragic and romantic.

The Benedick/Beatrice love-hate relationship brings the gem in this play. They literally hate each other at first because of their views about love and marriage. They both swear to live as a bachelor forever rather to be married. After that their friends plan to make them fall in love with each other by deceiving both of them that the other love them and just not want to tell it to the other. Their chemistry is just lovely they both in...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-literature, plays, want

Shakespeare is a genius, well he was anyway now I guess he's just a dead genius, but his genius survives in the form of his plays. And like many other of his plays Much Ado About Nothing is something to make much ado about.

It is a brilliant comedy focusing on relationships between individuals as they attempt to cause individuals to fall in and out of love. In short it could be read as an analysis of the human heart and the ways in which human beings are emotionally led. Its beautifully written...more

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Jul 31, 2007 Maria M. Elmvang rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007, play, not-owned, 4-stars

Shakespeare isn't usually my cup of tea but "Much Ado About Nothing" is easily the best play I've read by him. It's funny with lots of quick puns. I read it both in English and in Danish in order to get the full value of it - the Danish so I'd actually understand what was going on, and the English in order to enjoy the puns! Something interesting that I wasn't aware of - originally 'Nothing' and 'Noting'(i.e. overhearing) meant the same, so the title is really "Much Ado About Noting", which make...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Ryan Milbrath added it · review of another edition

It's suprising to me that Much Ado about Nothing is one of Shakespeare's most recognized comedies, but most people don't really think stacks up to the rest of his work like Taming of the Shrew or A Midsummer Night's Dream. I've always harbored a deep attachment to Much Ado, because for me it has incited a new interpretation every time I read it. I'm willing to admit that A Midsummer Night's Dream is my favorite of ALL Shakespeare's plays, however, Much Ado comes in a close second. In my personal...more It's suprising to me that Much Ado about Nothing is one of Shakespeare's most recognized comedies, but most people don't really think stacks up to the rest of his work like Taming of the Shrew or A Midsummer Night's Dream. I've always harbored a deep attachment to Much Ado, because for me it has incited a new interpretation every time I read it. I'm willing to admit that A Midsummer Night's Dream is my favorite of ALL Shakespeare's plays, however, Much Ado comes in a close second. In my personal opinion, I don't consider Much Ado to be a full fledged comedy. In fact, I'd say it's unclassifable. Sure, characters like Dogberry, the sexual inneundos, and the relationship between Benedict and Beatrice live room for plently of chuckles. However, it almost reads as a satire of aristocratic life. While Don Pedro, Claudio, and Benedick all celebrate a "bloodless" war with his brother the bastard Don John (I put bloodless in quotes, because it is mentioned that while no noble men died, men of "incosequential rank did perish"), they become in embroiled in a "drama" that is as the title suggests is "much ado about nothing." It's as if Shakespeare means to say that while the commoners experience the bloodshed of civil war, the royatly troubles itself with romantic intrigues-that amount to nothing in the end. Then the character of Don John, the bastard brother of Don Pedro appears just as interesting, but regretably underdeveloped. Shakespeare touches on issues of power and legitmacy in pre-renaissance time with the character, but my only criticism is that he embodies the true villain of theatre-one that the audience finds hard to sympathsize with. Many parts read like a drama: Leonata wishing his daughter Hero to die because of the shame brought to the family, Beatrice inciting Benedict to kill Claudio after his slanderous remarks "kill" Hero, or even Borachio, Don John, and Conrad hatching a plan to destroy the relationship between Claudio and Hero.

In the end, interpretations have exhausted the motifs and themes of Much Ado. At face value, it's good read. Benedict (my personal favorite) embodies the wise cracking bachelor and companion to Claudio and Beatrice (Benedicts compliment) embodies the strong, single, wisecracking female who refuses to be swept off her feet without extra effort. For me, it is the relationship between these two supporting actors that makes the story. Hero and Claudio are mere cut-outs compared to these characters.(less)

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Mar 19, 2013 Tristram rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-english-literature, the-bard

„Daughter, remember what I told you: If the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer.“ (II, 1)

And so do we, even though the prince, as comes out later, did not woo fair Hero for himself, but for his friend Count Claudio. Yet, Hero also knows the answer to that one, and as a dutiful daughter she tends to speak only when addressed to, or when she is wearing a mask.

“Much Ado About Nothing” is generally considered to rank among Shakespeare’s finest comedies, and in addition to this I...more „Daughter, remember what I told you: If the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer.“ (II, 1)

And so do we, even though the prince, as comes out later, did not woo fair Hero for himself, but for his friend Count Claudio. Yet, Hero also knows the answer to that one, and as a dutiful daughter she tends to speak only when addressed to, or when she is wearing a mask.

“Much Ado About Nothing” is generally considered to rank among Shakespeare’s finest comedies, and in addition to this I would see it as one of his grimmest ones, too,* as the action frequently borders on the tragic. The story is about two pairs of lovers, who, after some good-natured and some ill-natured plots, are finally united. There are, first of all, Beatrice and Benedick, who wage “a merry war” against each other, flinging smarting witticisms and provocations the one versus the other, while in reality they seem to feel quite a lot of mutual attraction. In fact, Benedick seems to have courted and jilted Beatrice some time before (cf. II,1, ll.211-13). This “merry war” affords great opportunities of admiring Bea’s repartee, because her quicksilvery answers often come down on glib Benedick like so many coups d’épée. One of my favourite scenes is when Don Pedro reports to Benedick how Bea retorted each of his attempts at singing Benedick’s praise by turning the prince’s words into something negative: “I said thou hadst a fine wit, true said she, a fine little one: no said I, a great wit: right, says she, a great gross one: nay said I, a good wit: just said she, it hurts nobody […] nay said I, he hath the tongues: that I believe said she, for he swore a thing to me on Monday night, which he foreswore on Tuesday morning, there’s a double tongue […]” This hell of a torrent is truly Shakespearean, forsooth.

The other couple is a more conventional one: Count Claudio, a loyal friend of the prince’s, falls in love with Hero, the only daughter of the prince’s follower Leonato. As I suggested in the title, Hero is an obedient daughter, who only talks when talked to and who knows her place (“So says the prince, and my newly trothèd lord.”). When the prince’s illegitimate brother, Don John, starts scheming against her in order to get his revenge on Claudio, Hero suddenly finds her virginity doubted, and Claudio publicly insults and renounces her in front of the nuptial altar. This is the point when the whole play seems to diverge into tragedy, but for the serendipitous blundering of the night watchmen, led by the addle-brained Dogberry.

It is this frustrated wedding that I think the strongest scene of the whole play, because it reveals the gruesome logic of a male chauvinist society: Claudio, who has repeatedly professed his love for Hero to his friends, on the grounds, mind, that she is “a modest** young lady”, is so enraged when he finds himself confronted with Hero’s lecherousness that he resolves to expose her in public and ruin her reputation in order to restore his honour, and also the prince follows suit. What is even more, Hero’s father Leonato, at hearing Claudio’s unfeeling insults against the young lady (“Give not this rotten orange to your friend”), does not think of siding with his daughter at first, but rashly joins the diatribes of his social superiors and indulges in self-pity (“Grieved I, I had but one [daughter]? Chid I for that at frugal nature’s frame? Oh one too much by thee! Why had I one? Why ever wast thou lovely in my eyes?”) It is only later, talked into reason by the clergyman, Beatrice and Benedick, that he begins to think better of his misgivings about his daughter’s innocence. Can one imagine how Hero must have felt at that moment, when her own father joined the slander against her? Characteristically, Hero does not utter any word of defense or reproach, but swoons, thus proving a fine young lady again.

I would like to think that a great man such as the Bard would have wanted the audience to see these male, honour-obsessed brutes, who let no opportunity to indulge in bawdy jokes about cuckold husbands and slutty wives pass, with a critical eye, but then I am not too sure whether, quite a child of his own time, Billy Shakes would not have joined them. We should not forget that Beatrice’s brilliant repartee, which probably makes her one of the most popular and interesting Shakespearean characters, is completely missing in the final act, when she has agreed to marry Benedick – of course, after extracting from him the promise to kill his friend Claudio for humiliating Hero.

Mulier taceat in ecclesia, and especially in matriminio. Maybe this was also Shakespeare’s view. All in all, this grim comedy will give you quite a lot of food for thought. One does not even have to like it for that.

* Together with “The Merchant of Venice”.
** Also meaning “innocent” and “virginal” here.
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Dec 27, 2012 Katy Faulkner rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is easily my favorite Shakespeare play - its hilarious, and I've read it enough times to actually understand the humor and exactly how brilliant Shakespeare is. I also think it completely runs laps around Romeo and Juliet in terms of Shakespere's romantic stories. Beatrice and Benedick actually get to know each other before falling in love, they are both brilliant and can see each other like equals, and they have a dynamic relationship, (unlike Romeo, who went to a party to try and forget a...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Mel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: play

So I bought a copy of the script when I was at the play as I thought it'd be nice to read before going and seeing it again. I don't normally like to read Shakespeare plays, I much prefer to see them live. But as I was seeing this one twice I thought it would be ok. I have to say I didn't get much out of reading the script. There is just SO much in the way the actors deliver their lines and the way they move on stage, so that 2 pages may take 1 minute to read but 5 minutes when seeing live. There...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Tfrances rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

Play

I love the interplay of characters in this one. We get some interesting pairs and foils. While I don’t find the laughs like I do in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there are some good moments. Most of those moments come with banter between Beatrice and Benedick. Beyond the content and characters, I do find it fascinating that this play in written mostly in prose. We get Shakespeare’s fun with verse occasionally, but most of it is straight verse. And I do love that it’s set in Messina on Sicily. T...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Megan (the rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like many of you, I received my introduction to Shakespeare in the form of Romeo and Juliet. I begrudgingly admitted that Shakespeare was perhaps the most prolific author ever and then made a clean break with the story, hoping to never endure such stupid characters ever again. (I mean come on, the story goes to pot because of lack of communication and shear stupidity. Plus the whole thing is based of the Greek myth of Pyramus and Thisbe, so yes, we would have West Side Story without Romeo and Ju...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Ken Moten rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: shakespeare-stuff, plays

I have to say, for my first Shakespeare comedy I enjoyed it. Everything was done well and I was kept very much involved with what was going on. Like most people I felt that the "secondary" couple Beatrice and Benedick stole the show with their interactions and crazy-sharped banter between themselves. I also laughed out ~~a few~~ EVERY TIME Dogberry spoke. Nothing to complain about with most of the protagonist although I will say some things about the antagonists:

They...didn't really make in impact....more

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May 23, 2012 Nicole Green rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Much Ado About Nothing is absolutely great and I have to contend that it is one of Shakespeare's best comedies ever. It is very apparent why so many writers in Hollywood, and even novel writers, copy some of the aspects of Shakespeare's work such as characters, plot themes, and even the whole play (just rewritten to fit modern times... or not). Examples of plays that have been reworked for Hollywood are: The Lion King (a retelling of Hamlet) and 10 Things I Hate About You (a retelling of The Tam...more

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Dec 20, 2011 Rosa Folgar rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Thanks to the reading challenge I decided to do this year, I am actually and finally reading books I always "wanted" and "meant" to read. Much Ado About Nothing is one such book. The title says it all! What a big hoopla we make about something like love. I absolutely loved the quick and funny wit of Beatrice and Benedick (like many others, I am sure). Even when they are fighting, they are hilarious and I can't help but quote their better insults.

Hero and Claudio are lame. Hero for taking Claudio...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Tiffany.wade rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Genre of this book is a Play
This play was published in the 1600's by William Shakespeare. In the beginning of the play, everyone goes to a costume mask party. While there Claudio asks Don Pedro to woo Hero for him because Claudio loves Hero. Eventually Don Pedro gets Hero to fall in love with Claudio. A week before the wedding, the "bad Guy", Don John tries to get Claudio and Hero to break up and ruin Hero's reputation. He comes up with an evil plan to make Margaret (Hero's maid) to look li...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't think I have ever made it all the way through anything by Shakespeare. I am sure I read bits and pieces in high school and college classes, but I don't remember much more than a passing glance at the stories. Anyway, I decided to pick this up and see what I thought of it. As an idiot, I am exceedingly happy that I picked up the Cambridge School version. Between each page there is a summation of the action, and a description of the (many) words that are hard to understand. I would have be...more

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Sep 05, 2011 dee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 162 – 165
BENEDICK Do you question me as an honest man
should do, for my simple true judgment? Or would
you have me speak after my custom, as being a
professed tyrant to their sex?

Act 1, Scene 1, Lines 175 – 178
BENEDICK Would you buy her that you enquire after
her?
Claudio: Can the world buy such a jewel?
BENEDICK Yea, and a case to put it into.

Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 6 – 19
BEATRICE He were an excellent man that were made
Just in the midway between him and Benedick. The
One is too lik...more

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May 26, 2011 Jordan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Much Ado About Nothing" is a play written by WIlliam Shakespeare in the 1600s. This is a Comedy Play about two pairs of lovers, Claudio and Hero, and Benedick and Beatrice. Throughout the story, both couples encounter walls that block their admission to true love for one another. Don Pedro, who is a good friend of Claudio, has a half brother named Don John that seeks to ruin other people's lives for the fun of it. Don John and his crew plot a plan to ruin Claudio and Hero's marriage. Benedick a...more

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May 25, 2011 Hibah added it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 25, 2011 Jacob rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

William Shakespeare, one of the greatest play writers of all time, wrote many different plays. One of the plays that he wrote is called: Much Ado About Nothing. Now the book that I read was written in English, but the English was as if you were living during the time of William Shakespeare. This made the book very hard to follow and many parts of the book you didn’t understand what was going on. When we discussed the book after each part, I was thinking the complete opposite of what was really h...more

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May 25, 2011 Haydon added it · review of another edition

In Much Ado About Nothing, while there were many characters, the main people the story focused on was Hero, Claudio, Don Pedro, and his brother Don John. The story begins with Claudio and Don Pedro returning from war with Claudio seeing Hero for the first time. He falls in love with her immediately and being good friends with Don Pedro; Don Pedro planes to woo Hero into falling in love with Claudio. Because of Don John's jealousy and envy of Claudio's power, he decides he would do anything to me...more

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May 22, 2011 Christina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Genre: Play

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

1)The thing that I liked about the play was how much I ended up liking it, I loved the humor and dramatic parts woven into the story. The characters were entertaining and unique. In the begining it was hard to understand anything or even what was going on but as the play went on it got easier.

2)The thing that I disliked about the play was the long paragrphs with detail. They just made understanding the material harder and confusing. But th...more

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May 22, 2011 Jon rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Much Ado About Nothing is a play by William Shakespeare. It is a comedy. It was hard to understand because it is written in old English do they use some different words. The story and plot was good, it was interesting and keep you guessing what was coming next.

It is about two young ladies, and a few young men that will all fall in love. The men all come back from the war to get married but not all of them want to be married. The one evil one out of the men is Don John. He is aways trying to mess...more

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Should Hero gone back to Claudio?	12	47	01. Mai, 07:08 Uhr
Beatrice and Benedick	4	21	01. Mai, 02:27 Uhr
Joss Whedon Makes Much Ado Movie	15	73	13. November, 06:18 Uhr
Enchanted Bookends: Much Ado About Nothing	3	7	16. April, 17:58 Uhr
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About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been tr...more William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. Scholars believe that he died on his fifty-second birthday, coinciding with St George’s Day. It is an interesting idea that English writer is so closely identified with the Patron Saint of England!

At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians hero-worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry". In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are consistently performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

According to historians, Shakespeare write 37 plays and 154 sonnets throughout the span of his life. Shakespeare's writing average was 1.5 plays a year since he first started writing in 1589. There have been plays and sonnets contributed to Shakespeare that were not authentically written by the great master of language and literature.
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Quotes from Much Ado About Nothing

“Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever,-
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never.” — 646 people liked it

“I can see he's not in your good books,' said the messenger.
'No, and if he were I would burn my library.” — 306 people liked it

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